Conceal-carry permits up in Lehigh Valley

A record number of people applied for a license to carry concealed firearms last year in the Lehigh Valley, and early indicators in 2013 show demand isn't slowing down as national leaders talk gun control.

A record number of people applied for a license to carry concealed firearms last year in the Lehigh Valley, and early indicators in 2013 show demand isn't slowing down as national leaders talk gun control.

Northampton County Sheriff Randy Miller said his office received 4,627 license-to-carry applications last year, shattering 2011's total by 70 percent.

The demand required him to bring on extra help to handle the volume of people walking through the doors, and it has become a challenge for his deputies to finish the background checks within the 45-day period mandated by law, he said.

The surge meant the county broke its records for the most license applications in a day, month and year, he said.

"Every five minutes we were moving an application forward," Miller said, calculating the workload on the department's busiest day.

Both Miller and Lehigh County Sheriff Ronald Rossi said in September they had already seen record highs in applications for licenses to carry a concealed weapon. While Rossi couldn't provide the county's total 2012 figures, because the deputy handling it was unavailable, he said in August the numbers were already up 25 percent from 2011.

The monthly record of carry-permit applications in Northampton County set last year has already been broken, Miller said.

Though he could not provide a final total, he estimated January 2013 broke the previous record by about 100 applications. That came despite a four-day period where the county could not accept any applications due to a glitch in Pennsylvania's computer system for license-to-carry applications.

Miller and Rossi attributed the spike in part to the number of high-profile mass shootings reported in the media last year, including massacres at the Aurora, Colo., movie theater and Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Newtown, Conn.

The two sheriffs also speculated that President Barack Obama's call for sweeping gun control initiatives has created a rush of people looking to legally acquire guns in the face of future uncertainties.

"You have this whole gun rights issue," Miller said.

Added Rossi: "I think it's a lot of people overreacting to what's going on. People keep coming in for these permits."

Federal statistics show a spike in background checks in Pennsylvania on people looking to both buy firearms and obtain concealed-carry permits.

The National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, recorded 968,534 applications for purchases and permits in 2012 in Pennsylvania, up 35 percent from 718,934 in 2011.

Miller noted Northampton County set a record for the number of rejected applicants.

In Pennsylvania, sheriffs must approve the license except for certain circumstances such as mental health, age, criminal history and character.

Miller downplayed the mark, however, saying the 2012 rejection rate of 9.2 percent was lower than 2011's 10 percent.